STEUBENVILLE — A former Wintersville resident was sentenced Friday to life without possibility of parole for 50 years on two felony counts of raping a young girl by force.

John Edward Martin, 34, of Uhrichsville was sentenced by Jefferson County Common Pleas Judge Michele Miller to two consecutive life terms, each without the possibility of parole for at least 25 years.

The jury deliberated nearly six hours before returning the verdict.

Martin’s attorney, Michael J. Goldberg of Cleveland, in his closing told jurors the state had claimed the information “was dragged out of her,” but insisted there was no physical evidence proving the child had been raped. He also reminded jurors that early on she’d recanted the allegations.

But Prosecutor Jeff Bruzzese pointed out the child had disclosed the assaults to a friend who was worried about her and was able to produce a text chain — thousands of messages between the two girls. He told the jurors the case “is not about the victim, it’s about John Martin.”

“Now is the time when she needs you, all 12 of you,” he said. “There’s no justice in this case without a unanimous verdict on all counts.”

Bruzzese was elated the jury found Martin guilty on all counts.

“I’m extremely happy that he will never be able to hurt another child again because he will likely be behind bars for the rest of his natural life,” Bruzzese said. “And that’s exactly where child predators belong.”

He pointed out the victim “was 11 and 12 years old during the abuse.

“I think they believed her story because there (she had no reason) to lie and partly because she was texting with a friend about the ongoing abuse,” Bruzzese added. “We had the texts — they were essentially a diary in real time of a young girl being abused and crying out for help.”